Matlock Town captain Adam Yates backs FA decision to void non-league football

The decision was recently ratified by the Football Association with all results wiped from the record.

“It could have been resolved in a number of ways and it must be terrible for the top clubs,” said Yates.

“I suppose we’ve had a bit of a reprieve although I think we’d have got out of it towards the end.

“It’s a very hard one, but I believe the right decision’s been made.

“There was too many ifs and buts to make any other decision such as using the average points per game.

“We’d played only 28 games, some clubs had played 35 or so, my gut feeling is that the decision’s the right one and that’s not because we’re near the bottom of the division.”

With players facing a longer than usual break from playing, they now face the dual problem of maintaining their fitness and staying safe as the Coronavirus continues to take its toll.

“Everyone’s trying to keep ticking over and with the restrictions in place it’s easier for some rather than others,” he added.

“I work from home a lot which is quite helpful, but with the nursery closed I also have to keep my young daughter entertained.

“I’m managing okay though and we’ve been given training schedules and had bleep tests so we can be prepared whenever we return.”The 2019/20 campaign was a difficult one for the Gladiators who slid from the top of the table in early September towards relegation.

They won their opening four matches but then only managed four more wins and 17 more points from their remaining 24 matches.

It was form in direct contrast to their displays in the FA Trophy, which saw them unluckily lose 2-1 at Conference National Eastleigh in the last 32.

“I don’t think some of our league results reflected how well we played at times yet we had very good cup results,” Yates added. “Our league form suffered, which was very disappointing for the league’s our bread and butter.

“We had to play a lot of games in a short space of time, the big cup game at Eastleigh and then back to the league and it took a lot of mental strength.

“We didn’t have a great deal of luck but also when you look at where we were, results and the points we have don’t lie.

“We’d have been okay in the end but we weren’t good enough over the 28 league games we played.”

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